24-6-2024 (MANILA) In a significant development, former Senator Leila de Lima has been acquitted of her last remaining drug charge, marking the end of a prolonged legal battle that has spanned several years. The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 granted De Lima’s motion for demurrer to evidence on Monday, effectively dismissing all charges against her.
The acquittal was confirmed by De Lima’s lawyer, Boni Tacardon, following the court’s promulgation on Monday afternoon. A demurrer is a legal motion filed on the grounds that the evidence presented by the prosecutors is insufficient for a criminal conviction.
De Lima, a vocal critic of the former Duterte administration’s controversial war on drugs, has been in detention since February 2017 due to her alleged involvement in the New Bilibid Prison illegal drug trade. However, her ordeal took a positive turn in November 2022 when the Muntinlupa RTC granted her temporary liberty and allowed her to post bail.
Prior to her acquittal, De Lima had already been cleared of two other drug charges filed against her during the Duterte administration. In October 2023, a significant development occurred when former policemen Rodolfo Magleo and Nonilo Arile, key witnesses who had accused De Lima of involvement in the illegal drug trade, withdrew their testimonies, citing a “bothered good conscience.”
The former senator’s first drug case was dismissed by the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 205 in 2021 after granting her motion for demurrer to evidence. Subsequently, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted De Lima and her aide, Ronnie Dayan, in her second drug case, clearing them of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison when she was still the Justice Secretary.
De Lima, a former Justice Secretary under the Aquino administration, has consistently maintained her innocence and claimed that the charges against her were politically motivated due to her staunch criticism of the Duterte administration’s drug war, which claimed thousands of lives.
